Highlights:
•Life of mine plan includes oxide and skarn ore, from El Valle Boinás and Carlés mines, at an average annual rate of 686,000 tonnes, for a period of five years.
•Proven and Probable Reserves of 3.4 million tonnes containing 307,000 ounces of gold, 27.6 million pounds of copper and 756,000 ounces of silver.
•Inferred Mineral Resources of approximately 3.4 million tonnes containing 410,000 ounces of gold, 24.8 million pounds of copper and 934,000 ounces of silver, providing potential opportunities to further extend mine life.

TORONTO, Dec. 29, 2020 /CNW/ - Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") is pleased to report the completion of an updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate (the "MRMR Update") and life-of-mine plan (the "LOMP Update"), each completed in accordance with CIM Definition Standards (2014) and as incorporated by reference into National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), for its Orovalle Operation ("Orovalle"), in Asturias, Spain.

Orvana retained Roscoe Postle Associates UK Ltd. (RPA), now part of SLR Consulting Ltd (SLR), an independent consulting firm, to prepare an independent NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Orovalle Operation (the "2020 Technical Report"). The purpose of the 2020 Technical Report is to incorporate the MRMR Update and LOMP Update, as at September 30, 2020, which will be filed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com within 45 days from the date of this news release. The 2020 Technical Report replaces the previous Orovalle NI 43-101 Technical Report, dated September 26, 2014, and filed on SEDAR on September 29, 2014.

"Orvana's management team is extremely pleased with the updated Orovalle life of mine plan of five years. The Company's ability to continue to maintain a five-year life of mine plan since 2014 is the result of the execution of a successful exploration strategy, resulting in the Company being able to replenish depletion year-by-year."

Mr. Gavidia continued, "The Company is committed to an aggressive drill program at Orovalle by way of continued systematic infill and brownfield drilling programs with the aim to further extend the life of mine. Current Mineral Inferred Resources along with the recently released results of our latest brownfield drilling program, indicate a bright long term future for the operation at Orovalle. We are also optimistic that our promising greenfield exploration programs at Lidia and Ortosa-Godán, with drilling underway, will result in potential additional upside in the near future".

LOMP Update

In fiscal 2014, the Company engaged RPA to complete a technical report on El Valle Boinás and Carlés mines in accordance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure. The 2014 technical report, "Technical Report on the El Valle Boinás-Carlés Operation, Asturias, Spain", dated September 26, 2014 (and previously filed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com), reported a life of mine plan of five years, starting October 2014, with the first three years of mining at an average of 571,000 tonnes of ore per annum, followed by two years of oxide-only production at a reduced average rate of 243,000 tonnes of ore per annum. The 2014 Technical Report life of mine plan incorporated approximately 2.2 million tonnes of ore, with and estimated metal production of 282,000 ounces of gold, 24.2 million pounds of copper and 767,000 ounces of silver.

During the period commencing in October 2014 and ending in September 2020, Orovalle in fact produced 323,651 ounces of gold and 31.6 million pounds of copper, exceeding the 2014 estimated life of mine metal production by 15% in gold and 31% in copper.

RPA completed the LOMP Update based on Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves estimated as at September 30, 2020, as part of the MRMR Update. The planned production schedule consists of oxide and skarn ore to be mined from both the El Valle Boinás and Carlés mines at an average rate of 686,000 tpa for a period of five years. The total production schedule estimates 3.4 million tonnes of ore, containing an estimated 307,000 ounces of gold, 756,000 ounces of silver, and 27.6 million pounds of copper. In addition, the Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated to contain 410,000 ounces of gold and 24.8 million pounds of copper, providing potential opportunities to extend the operation life.

The following table shows the life of mine plan starting October 2020:
Item Units FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 Total
Mill Feed
Tonnes 000 t 704 698 681 675 673 3,431

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